In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I'm in your garden, fading fast in your arms
The soldiers soften, the war is over
The air raid shelters are blooming clover
Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes
My London Bridge in rain again
Oh! England, my Lionheart!
Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park
You read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames
That old river poet that never, ever ends
Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in
And keep the tower from tumbling
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I don't want to go
Oh! England, my Lionheart!
Dropped from my black Spitfire to my funeral barge
Give me one kiss in apple-blossom
Give me one wish, and I'd be wassailing
In the orchard, my English rose
Or with my shepherd, who'll bring me home
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I don't want to go
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I don't want to go
I'm in your garden, fading fast in your arms
The soldiers soften, the war is over
The air raid shelters are blooming clover
Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes
My London Bridge in rain again
Oh! England, my Lionheart!
Peter Pan steals the kids in Kensington Park
You read me Shakespeare on the rolling Thames
That old river poet that never, ever ends
Our thumping hearts hold the ravens in
And keep the tower from tumbling
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I don't want to go
Oh! England, my Lionheart!
Dropped from my black Spitfire to my funeral barge
Give me one kiss in apple-blossom
Give me one wish, and I'd be wassailing
In the orchard, my English rose
Or with my shepherd, who'll bring me home
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I don't want to go
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
Oh! England, my Lionheart
I don't want to go
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Oh England My Lionheart Lyrics as written by Kate Bush
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I feel that it is about a yearning for an England that no longer exists, an arcadian paradise;the so called albion, a longing for the beauty of the past, or how we remeber things were when we were children and how we become more aware of flaws and therefore become more cynical towards such images. The beauty of Kate's work lies in the childlike innocence that she still possesses which allows her to create such beautiful, poetic, dreamlike imagery. It is a passionate and inspiring song which makes me proud of the wonderful heritage of my england.
"Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes, my London Bridge in rain again". This is the England I love, the England of "Brief Encounter", the England of Home. When Lionheart was released I was just a English kid living in the Netherlands, desperately wishing to be back home. This song captures that feeling and the pride of being English, without all the nationalistic crap that goes with national pride now.
sighs I know not many people were a fan of this album, but I just love it, this song especially. I think this song is about an old soldier, saying goodbye to his beloved home as he dies, remembering all the things he loved so much about it, and not wanting to leave. One of my favourite Kate Bush songs of all time :)
This is song is so beautiful...the repeated line that closes the album is sung so wonderful, mournfully... it almost glows. It's very stirring and patriotic in a quiet, poeting way (the type I like).
I believe the song makes it quite clear thats it's from the perspective of a fighter pilot, going down in flames. 'Dropped from my Black Spitfire to my funeral barge' Because Kate was so fiercely English, this song really is a personal ode to England. The pilot talks about the wonders and things he loves about the country as he plummets toward the ground.
I adore this song...I'm not even English but I think in a way anyone can relate to the imagery in the song, the pilot fondly remembering the wonderful things about his homeland contrasted with his fall from his Spitfire. It could be about any person struck by terror and danger wishing desperately for safety and the way things used to be.
That said, it does of course have a level quite personal to the artist, referring so specifically to England.
This song perfectly evokes pre-war heroism… the stoicism… the patriotic fondness for one’s homeland… the gorgeous musical arrangements…
It reminds me of Rupert Brooke’s The Soldier… and suggests an heroic tale Achilles might have sung! I know it’s terribly English… But the Greeks were terribly Greek… :o)
(nb. Kate was born in Kent, and Kent is known as The Garden of England.)
Kate is such a cryptic poet! ... 'The soldiers soften, the war is over' - detumescent sexual poetry? 'my funeral barge' - the 'De Efteling' video Ophelia?
"Flapping umbrellas fill the lanes, my London Bridge in rain again". This is the England I love, the England of "Brief Encounter", the England of Home. When Lionheart was released I was just a English kid living in the Netherlands, desperately wishing to be back home. This song captures that feeling and the pride of being English, without all the nationalistic crap that goes with national pride now.
i think this song is about wanting to return to an England that existed before the world wars (like Edwardian England) when i heard the song i immeadiatley connected it to an essay that E.M. Forster wrote as an afterward to his novel 'Maurice'